Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-09-17
down such a bov as Sebastian to button.

ought not to thwart boys genius"
1t ended, as most matrimonial discussions
ended with this worthy pair, in Mrs.
Fellowes triumph.
The manufacturer gave way. lie went
up to town and saw the artist who took
pupils-and who paid Mr.. Gilbertson, the
framemaker, commission when he got
him any-and was impressed by the I'M
tidy, ferce-looking, ragged-haired man,
who had artist written, as 1t were, on
the shoulders Of his dusty old studio coat.
Mr.. Fellowes WAS an acute aud sensible
man, though Il slave to his dic-away, soft
voiced wife, and he rightly judged old
Hamlin, the unsuccessful painter, who
could never make money, but who could
make artists, and who had spark of divine
fire in him, TO be the right man 10 train
the budding genius of Sebastian. Ills
coarse. clever charcoal drawing, his rough
studies of color, which seldom got fin
ished, all had the mark Of one who might
have made name if he had not been too
cratic too cxtravagant, and little too
fond of whisky to finish well what was
finely conceived. lie could teach, and had
taken 10 that to earn his living when he
despaired of ever painting as it was in him
to imagine what painting should be. He
gladly closed with the liberal offer the
birmingham trader made with him, and
the long, handsome, brown-haired Sebas-
tian. with the awkwardness Of hobblede-
hoy and the gentleness of girl in all his
ways. came up to London TO board with Il
Dissenting minister who knew Mrs. Eel
loves father, and to draw at Mr.. Hamlin's
studio. 1t was a queer contrast between
the studio in Fitzroy Square and the prim
household in Charlotte street. The one
dirty, disorderly, strongly favored with
slang, tobacco and spirits, with Il Bohe-
milan atmosphere of cleverness and dew
iltry the other narrow, precise, conven-
tionally pious, redolent of tea and tracts.
The quiet boy had far more in common
with the letter, though he meant to seize
every opportunity that the studio offered
10 make that fame for which he longed,
and to which he set his obstinate-wil. He
disliked and disapproved of the talk, the
smoke, the disorder; but he went calmly
on in the midst of it, and fixed his mind
firmly OH the star of his hope beyond. He
was an odd mixture ; his stubbornness kept
him serenely correct in what would have
been a terrible ordeal for a weak or pas
sionate temperament, and he was equally
uninfected by the fervor and fire of his
masters spirit, yet he was always mild.
soft-spoken and docile.
you will never be great artist. lad ~
Hamlin cried out one day, letting his hand
fall heavily on the pupils shoulder, as he
stood behind him looking at the chalk
drawing on his board "yo've fatal facil-
ity i'll you, but you've no devil in you.
Every genius must have devil and angel
mixed in him"
Sebastian glanced up and smiled a little.
He did not believe in the words in the
least
WAS there devil in Raphael, sir ~
he asked softly.
Raphael" cried the old man, laughing in
his rough way; "but I'm at times uneon-
| WINGED of Raphael's genius. l sometimes
think It WIS only the consummation of
talent. Yes, you've a fatal facility, you
have great industry; it's very likely you
will make money, but you sadly lack devil.
| Take to domestic art, my lad. Take to the
! touching-sentiment sentiment, That's your
| liner
Yes, sir. ! mean to do so. | should
like to make the world sweeter and better
| by my brush"
Old Hamlin grimed, and then made an
odd face.
ooh, you poor, good prig! he muttered
into his rough gray beard as he turned
abruptly on his heel.
Sebastian went on with his chalk draw
ing of the Discobolus calmly, smiling Il
little. He did not in the least accept his
masters dictum; he meant to be great
man, and he said to himself; C. will raise
the love of art; mine shall be always
pure"
He went on with that fatal facility" of
which the rough artist spoke; his draw
ings were accepted at the Academy, and
he became ! student there. He made
friends with the few steady pupils, avoided
the rowdy ones, protested against the ne
cessity of studying the life model-as may
be supposed, in vain. He could not see, he
said, why knowledge Of the human figure
could not be mastered from the antique
he objected, on principle, to any other
! means of attaining such knowledge he
carefully concealed from his good parents
| in Birmingham and from the serious friends
| there the awful fact that he was obliged to
draw from the living undraped model
His mother would have had all her joy in
the career of her genius completely de-
| stroyed if she had known the dreadful
world Of art, the temptation of the studio
OF course Sebastian was laughing
stock. He was partly unconscious of that
| fact-wholly unmoved by it. The long
| limbed, thin, rather angular lad had grown
into a singularly handsome young man
! with 4 certain stateliness of demeanor and
| sweetness of expression, Il deliberate cour-
tesy OF manner which he wore perpetually
long brown locks curling at the end lik,
his mothers and features little like those
Of the Stuart Charles the First.
He was, in spite of his rather melancholy
expression, lucky fellow, as all his com
panions declared. He never had any re
verses; but then he was unexceptionabl,
HE never deserved any. He spent II,
time or money in riotous living; he drew
| or painted all day occasionally went t,
the play; but more often his relaxation
took the form of spending quiet even
ing with friends. If the friends hac
daughters he had cordial relations will
them; but he kept out of firiations o
love-making.
Before he left the Academy he obtainc,
a gold medal; he got travelling scholar
ship, and visited Italy
At % he had his own studio, and begal
to fill it with pictures. When he wen
home to Birmingham at Christmas, he tool
has mother 4 present of one of these
beautifully framed and smoothly painted
a Biblical subject-Ruth Binding tn,
Shcaves.
Mrs. FelIowes shed happy tears over it
Neither she nor any of her friends VIII,
were invited to see dear Sebastian's swee
painting" discovered that Ruth's arm wa
out of drawing, and her hand too small b,
several inches. 1t was lovely face; so smooth
and with such big, brown eyes, such ricl
curling locks below the veil; the sky wa
so blue and the corn so yellow. Even TIL
button-maker looked at il with much com
placency, though he said he was no iudg
of such things. In his heart he marvele,
al the strange development of the Fellowe
| stock, and supposed it was the MiIdmay
blood-Marianne's father, the Baptist min
lister, had published bsok on the Preph
cts, and was considered 4 light in his con
nec;ion.
1t Is true that the next Academy skie,
the only picture they took Of Sebastian's
but he went on serenelr, and had no fears
! lie took to PAINTING lalae>tic sul,ierts-